Second day concerns

by Lori Keekley

It’s not the first day of school that has me worried. It’s the second.

St. Louis Park’s first day involves some get-to-know-you activity, but we start content on the second. And this is why I’m worried.

With the summer of fake news and recent news of the events of Charlottesville, Virginia, I want my students to understand why what they do is so important.

So, on the second day, we will revisit our mission statement.

I want them to understand the importance of giving voice to the voiceless as both the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics and Poynter’s Guiding Principles state. I will have them read Columbia Journalism Review’s article, “The Voiceless have a Voice. A Journalist’s Job is to Amplify it.”

I want our students who have not only experienced the news from this past weekend, but also the trial results of the death of Philando Castile to have a voice.

I’m proud my students are on board. Although they just reworked our mission statement last year, my editors want to make sure they include that needed voice.

And again, it will be their decision on how they work toward the mission and how they will work to include multiple voices in their coverage to show the best story they can